Saturday, February 18, 2006

Glossary: Mihraj

Medieval Islamic texts used the word Mihraj or similar forms like Mihrjan to describe the king of the Zabag empire in the East Indies. Mihraj may be a corruption of the Indian Maharaja "Great King."

Writers of the time described the Mihraj's influence as extending over vast territories from the Indies to East Africa. Some of these claims are substantiated by physical evidence such as the written records of the kingdoms of Champa and Cambodia, and land grants in South and East India. According to the texts, Zabag and its southern neighbor Wakwak competed for the highly lucrative East African trade.

Income from the mercantile trade made the Mihraj very wealthy at that time. In the One Thousand and One Nights and other Arabic literature the Mihraj along with the legendary Solomon are held as ideals of royal wealth. Sindbad visits the Mihraj on the "Isle of Mares" in one of most well-known of his voyages.

In the sea of Champa is the empire of Mihraj, the king of the islands, who rules over an empire without limit and has innumerable troops. Even the most rapid vessels could not complete in two years a tour round the isles which are under his possesssion. The territories of this king produce all sorts of spices and aromatics, and no other sovereign of the world gets as much wealth from the soil.

-- Mas'udi, AD 943

Despite the wealth of the Mihraj, his capital is described as a 'town' in Muslim literature. His palace is located on the water's edge in an estuary, and from his patio he daily threw gold bars into the water to propitiate the sea. At low tide, the pile of gold was exposed for all to see, and when the king died the gold was distributed to all the people of the land. The greatness of the king was judged by the amount of gold so accumulated. In the capital, fisher folk living in their boats or homes over the water were exempted from taxes. The Mihraj was the model of the Fisher King, the "Lord of the Net."

The rural setting of his kingdom is detailed by Abu Zaid who states that "patches of settlement succeed each other without interruption" and further mention an "uninterrupted and regular succession of villages."

A very trustworthy man affirms that when the cocks crow at daybreak, as in our country, they call out to each other throughout the whole extent of a hundred parasangs [~500 kilometers]...In effect, there are no uninhabited places in this country and no ruins. He who comes into the country when he is on a journey, if he is mounted he may go wherever he pleases; if he is tired or if his mount has difficulty in carrying on, then he may stop wherever he wishes.

-- Abu Zaid, 10th century

Policy of Attraction

During the heyday of Zabag between about 800 CE to 1300 CE, the Mihraj maintained an "open door" policy, as mentioned above by Abu Zaid. Merchants were encouraged to enter and stay in the country. Idrisi states that in particular the merchants of China favored trading in the islands of Zabag:

It is said that when the states of affairs of China became troubled by rebellions and when tyranny and confusion became excessive in India, the inhabitants of China transferred their trade to Zabag and the other islands dependent on it, entered into relations with it, and familiarized themselves with its inhabitants bcause of their justice, the goodness of their conduct, the pleasantness fo their customs, and their facility in business. It is because of this that this island is so heavily populated and so often frequented by strangers.

-- Idrisi, 12th century

Later during the Ming dynasty, the kingdom of Lusung, Zabag's successor, continued this policy and when the Spanish arrived in Luzon there existed merchant communities from China and Japan on land granted by the Lusung king. The large Chinese trading community of the Manila Bay was known as the Parian.

Lusung is situated in the southern seas not far from Chang-chou (in Fukien)...In the past, thousands of Fukienese merchants lived there for a long period without returning home, because the land was near and rich. They even had children and grandchildren.

-- Ming-shi (Dynastic annals of the Ming Dynasty)

Not long after reaching the pinnacle of its power, Zabag was threatened by its powerful neighbor to the South. In the late 10th century, an attack by Wakwak prompted the Mihraj to send an embassy to the Sung dynasty requesting assistance. Such a policy of attraction appears to have been a necessary strategy for the Mihraj, whose trading empire was also under attack in the far West.

Indeed both Wakwak and Zabag faced problems with their ancient East African spice routes due to the expansion of Islam. Wakwak for its part decided on massive military action. An expedition in the 10th century of fleet of one thousand ships was sent to the African Zanj coast and to Qanbalu, which by this time was nearly completely in Muslim hands. Arab merchants from Oman were taking over the trade.

Ibn Lakis has imparted to me some extraordinary pieces of information concerning them. It is thus that in 334 AH (945-6 CE) they came upon Qanbalu in a thousand ships and fought them with the utmost vigor, without however achieving their end, as Qanbalu is surrounded by a strong defensive wall around which stretches the water-filled estuary of the sea, so that Qanbalu is at the center of this estuary, like a fortified citadel."

-- Kitab aja'ib al-Hind of Buzurg ibn Shahriyar (955 CE)

The vast Wakwak fleet traveled for one year to attack Qanbalu, Sofala and other Zanj settlements that were then dominated by Muslim traders. Such a costly expedition demonstrates the gravity of the situation to the Wakwak rulers. Certainly the Mihraj must have felt the same way.

However, our thesis is that the Mihraj practiced a policy of attraction. His military might at the time was spent in protecting his home kingdom from Wakwak. He sent ambassadors to India and Tibet, made grants for temples there and some Zabag (Suvarnadvipa) kings are even said to have personally traveled to South Asia.

Further west in Europe, the overtures of the Mihraj may be seen in the letters and ambassadors of "Prester John." There was nothing unusual in the Mihraj patronizing at the same time Buddhism, Christianity (Nestorianism), Hinduism, Jainism, animism, etc. This was not an uncommon practice among the medieval kings of the Indies.

Later, Lusung continued this policy of attraction when the Portuguese arrived on the scene. By this time the ancient eastern routes in Africa had been lost, but Lusung still managed to monopolize the restricted trade with China. And it was still an important source of gold.

King of the Mountain

Chinese texts describing the king of Zabag (Sanfotsi) state that each ruler had images of themselves made in gold (anitos?). These images were consecrated to a "Buddha" called the "Hill of Gold and Silver" after the death of the ruler.

The Southeast Asian concept of the "King of the Mountain" likely derives originally from the mountain custodians of indigenous customary law. The custodian/guardian/king was also often placed as priest of a sacred plot, terrace or temple on the mountain.

The territory divided by the rivers flowing from the mountain were formed into districts under the ultimate influence of the king who ruled the entire banua. In the cosmic version of this kingship, the mountain becomes the axis mundi and the king a type of universal ruler. The territories under the king now include all those 'beneath the sky.'

In the Pinatubo model, the districts around the mountain are eight in number divided by eight major rivers, which including Pinatubo itself gives a total of nine districts. Using the "Mt. Meru" concept, the cosmic mountain also consists of levels, which we can equate with mountain terraces, often given as seven in number -- the 'seven heavens.'

Both the districts and levels can be viewed as if looking down from the sky in the symbolic form known as the mandala.

'Tantric' gold belt from pre-Hispanic gold collection of Philippine Central Bank. The triangles of the buckle represent the tiered mountain with six rows of dots/bindus decreasing by one as they ascend from the base of six dots. (Source: Laszlo Legeza's "Tantric elements in pre-Hispanic Philippine Gold Art," Arts of Asia, Jul-Aug 1988, p. 131)

Triangular gold pendant of the 'Sri Yantra' type also from the Central Bank, with dot-triangles arranged in three rows starting from a base of three triangles and decreasing by one with each ascending row. (Source: Laszlo Legeza's "Tantric elements in pre-Hispanic Philippine Gold Art," Arts of Asia, Jul-Aug 1988, p. 131)

The mandala was one of a series of animistic objects that symbolized or represented the cosmic mountain. These could be amulets, talimans, symbols, relics made of sacred materials from the mountain, even fire from the mountain itself. The objects were seen to have a life and even a mind and voice of their own. They are linked with the spiritual concept of the quest, both an inner and outer journey.

Gold waistcloth finial in "Mt. Meru" pattern from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas. When viewed from above the ornament appears as a series of concentric circles. Finials of this type were illustrated in the 16th century Boxer Codex.(Source: pupuplatter.blogspot.com)

Here's the poem found in the intro of volume 4 of Quests of the Dragon and Bird Clan (click on pic above for more info):

Quests

Exploits grand, powerful currents of history
The search for one's origins
Desire and calling flowing deep within the blood
Serpentine and winged messengers

Forested and palmed isles in crystalline waters
A land where two holy mounts preside
calling winds from all directions
heaping up the waves from Ocean's currents

In the descent of the Sun, born at night
during the time of the great feast
In between the two great lineages
Waiting until the last minute, hiding...

The glory of the clans, the bird and serpent
back and forth along the great plain
and the long serpentine rivers
Rising and setting like the two bright orbs

Strong and resilient, a guarded heritage
A trunk mighty like a banyan
yet flexing and recovering like a willow
Deep river of knowledge and inner power

Sprawling delta split into isles by dikes
and a myriad of waterways large and small
Fish ponds and rice fields as far as one can see
A royal land of ari, dayang and pampang

From days long past, the ancestors intuited the plan
The clan constructed the superstructure and laid the wayposts
Toil and sacrifice prepared the way concealed from colonial eyes
To a new Lusung in a land known to ancient progenitors

Galleons sailing through time to steamboats
through changes on the sea and on the land
empires come and go like the morning dew
servicing the waves of our dams and sires

Switching of the guard, the southern advance
A landing on the coast of the new Gold Mountain
As in Heaven, so on Earth
Bringing the light across the seas to a new abode

After thousands of years, the turning of ages beckons
Seed to spread throughout a waiting globe
Old holy land to sleep and wait
A material cocoon to encase Sun and Moon

Mirroring the old in the new
Matching myths and landscapes, sometimes reoriented
Creating a familiar home and environment
At the same time strange and recognizable

Nexus of trade and communication networks
Mother and guardian of ships and seafarers
Route of spices, gold, metals, trade goods
Transplanted to the land of the queen's retreat

Streams of time and history converge
and diverge toward the center, new and old
cycles of conflict, hidden agendas, new alliances
A great plan without structure, spontaneous

World at war, families in flight
hiding in forest and in field, ponds
March of death for weary soldiers
Covert resistance against the red circle

Peace at last, but then, boarding the golden boat
looking for work in the amazonian isle
a clan begins its move to the east, to the world's edge
to the furthest coastlands of Prester John

New soil to host the blood
new earth to flow in the blood
Pearl of the ages moving for the first time
as before, pulling together the merchant streams

Best of humans drawn toward the magnetic mountain
New ideas flow in and out, leading the direction of thought
Migration paths intersect, denizens of the deep and air
come together to the great conference of earth's inhabitants

Arrival in the 50s, post-war, baby boom, capitalist golden age
Birthing the Cornucopia, great fertile fields
Picking the crops, odd jobs as available to send money home
A father and son working in the new land

Then son joins Air Force as the father had joined Army before
A new son arrives from the old country
Marriage near the base, near the site where it all began
A new family arises to take up the struggle

My birth at a hospital that stands now as a relic
on Thanksgiving night at dinner time
Within months off to the land of the red circle
Sister born at base converted now to Showa's park

Boarding again a plane for transpacific flight
leaving Mama-san behind to reunite with Queen Calafia
Where grandfather continues to work the land
together with uncles as the trunk and tip grows

Learning about the spirits and the stars
While a brother visits us briefly
before departing to SkyWorld to be with ancestors
Then another brother, the youngest of four siblings, arrives

Father stationed again in the ancestral land
By this time inspiring awe for its natural beauty and wonder
Imperfect start in recontact with the wild
Bite of the aswang sets the stage for the future

Going back to Cali, Cali
under the protection and guidance of the strong black one
From the South to the North with Snoopy in tow
Across Disney's land to the windy northern terminus

Learning the nature of the rock and its faithfulness
Understanding that treasures are usually hidden
the truth found just below or deep under the surface
Gaining insight in the loving warmth of the hearth

Into the 70s, the fruit of desegregation in the South
Kung fu fighting and blaxploitation
Coming of age in a mostly hostile environment
First yearnings to discover one's roots

Creeks, rivers, ponds, lakes, sea with bro and fam
Waking up to latest tunes from sister's sound system
In the snow with dogs, bunnies and birds
Nature becomes a great teacher and nurturer

Learning of the conflicts of color and race
building a body of strength and endurance
saying goodbye to the clan progenitor
Leaving through tumbleweeds and dust devils

Black dog on a plane crossing the seas
Back to the birth land in the rainy season
Memories folded and unfolded, re-lived
Severed roots replanted in volcanic soil and sand

Reconnecting with the alluvial streams and rivers
flowing from the Zambales mountains and Arayat
Going "native" and acquiring new knowledge
Hearing the voice of the Earth and Sky

Valuable clues and leads missed but not forgotten
Shadows of a hoary genealogy, a grave error
relinking with the blood and the lineages
becoming a fighter and rebel, but still without direction

Burning up the disco floor in polyester
high school graduation with Aeta queens
Instruction from the Great Feminine
returning "stateside" after soeur

Searching for family knowledge and a path
driving back and forth across rice fields and delta
following tradition and joining the military
Army boot camp and assignment to Europe

Pathfinding through German forests and mountains
Using orientation and navigation skills inherited
starting to find my causes and determination
Adventures in Paris, Florence, London and other cities

Martial arts training comes in handy
First noticed experiences with the Earth and Sky defenders
Noting dimly how the higher camp watches over things
here on the planet providing precious help at various times

Welcome to the 80s at the height of the Cold War
along comes Ronnie and Star Wars
Fulda Gap closes and a wall comes down
For each step forward, we also move back a little

Breaking free, realizing the conflict of "races"
A stop in Vegas and Hollywood thinking of the future
meandering about leads back to the university
studying politics and film, rubbing elbows with stars in LA

Back to the religion of when?
Animal guides show us paths not taken recently
how many texts were read and studied
how much energy misplaced but not completely

Tiny little Tori comes into the fold
patrolling the night with the teething pup
thinking about the direction given by grandparents
A new totemic teacher learns her calling

Leaping athletically to catch the prize
combing through the riddles of the ages
Sacramento is still an open space
Cowtown but formerly a Gold Rush hub

With sister studying college engineering
Brother heads off to Germany for Air Force stint
Adventure in the Bering Sea
combines with ethnological experience arousing curiosity

Taking a break to travel across the country by train
breaking open a book by a history master
enough to quickly gain understanding of purposeful error
connecting the dots about my own heritage and history

Pilgrimage denied setting off a new career
as person of action, messiah in my own mind
Throwing my lot into the perilous Middle East
believing and acting as if the pen is mightier

Letters as the weapons of choice
Arabian nights and East Asian unity
Taking a stand for the truth, for the cause
subversive forces start the 'civilizational war'

Blending word magic with spiritual fervor
Under the watchful eye of the Guru priestess
Winds of war and atmosphere blow fiercely, strongly
Eruption at the Axis Mundi, at Mount Pinatubu

Poetry and prose exploring the depths of devotion
Diving into the grand diversity of global culture
Learning, understanding the complex web
of history, politics, economy and spirituality

In the 50s, the blood comes to the District of Calafia
Newborn plant roots during the 60s Revolution
Coming of age for the young ones in Disco 70s
Learning and experience during the 80s transition

Timeline moves into the 90s age of Internet and Millennium
Ancient messengers move through the air
Great Equalizer brings power to the people
Mutia establishes the new center of commerce and messaging

Birth of the new generation in this line
First daughter and son of the brother
By this time, most of both bilateral clans
relocated to the new Golden State

Some of the old generation depart, some too soon
Toti keeps watch of the sky and the stars
Long hours in the caves of libraries and archives
Searching for details of the "rest of the story"

Sila, the feline hero, survivor of multiple ordeals
shows strength and opens the way
providing protection and ointment during times of woes
Two friends finding the path for the household

As one reclaims the past, the pun and the sepu
sailing through the annals of ancient mariners
riding the waves of the sea, of Kekai
To know where you're going, know where you came from

At the confluence of two rivers, floodplain of the Sierra
Holy Mount Shasta to the North, Mazama further still
In the great delta, the nation's Cornucopia
connecting to the bay and ocean, to the ports

Sacramento sets the rule and the tariff
dual epicenters to the west and south
sending out messages, hub of communication
leading in trade, bringing the nations together

Camp of Sky, Earth and Spirit stationed above and below
Leviathan visits near the confluence, twice
Sea lions, turtles make pilgrimages
Multitudes of birds come seasonally to the convergence

A new Suvarnadvipa with its own dual mountains
Llao and Skell in the valley of the sacred meal
Animal apus gather as well for exchange
of spirit and deeds and remembrance

Taking a stand on history and culture
Refuting the Eurocentric establishment
tackling the intricacies of linguistics, archaeology and more
traveling to relevant sites throughout the globe

"Holy Land," Jambudvipa, Himalayas and original "Eden"
picking up clues here and there from nooks and crannies
Thunder snow near Jerusalem and a Damascus road moment
Clarity now and an opportunity to move forward in truth

Gazing at Sun, Moon, planets and stars
watching for signs, marks and wonders
Speaking about the relevance of nothingness
Back once again to the whitened Indung Tibuan

From the roots up through the trunk, through time
streaming through the branches to leaves in prime
ancient blood lineages flow to the storied tip
legends and prophesies unlocked from the golden crypt

Memories and memes through tributaries flow
into the Great River's currents' tow
Pieces of the puzzle reassemble in the fight
restoring hidden treasures to the light

Ancestors and elders build the grand structure
Mazama for Pinatubo, Shasta for Arayat
New land split by gold dust rivers
New power center for the line of the Great Pearl

Running together with the not-so-young Lions
Finally earning a political journalistic credential
Playing the herald like a Pinoy Eagle
Creating my own grand virtual universe

Learning the code and the prognostication
Dancing like its 1999 at the new millennium's birth
Sister and husband find energy alternatives
bringing opportunities for the people of APU

A new century and scholar learns the business trade
Digital clocks survive and apocalypse fears fade
Time and age march on and bring reality back
That in our worldly lives, struggle we can never lack

Justice, liberty, freedom, equity are not free
Without engagement, success, you shall not see
As a family and friends learn to participate
We guide the politics, rely less on fate

Newborn nephew arrives too soon
a fighter, though, he meets the challenge
through the intercessors comes a boon
to family feeling the reaper's singe

Old, grizzled Jupiter guide
Yellow priestess on who I relied
Served you in your fading days
Apung Sila before you led the way

Farewell, way openers as you pass to the light
We remember you as we continue through the night
Days of ending come and new one arrives
A guiding star afresh to light up our lives

Apung Toti, Apung Sila instruct the pup
Siblings raise the banner as Sun comes up
Herald the time that ancients knew
When gold for iron comes anew

Apung Guintu sailed the sea
Apung Iru seeded the land
Uncles and aunts expanded the tree
Guided and hidden by celestial hand

The foe and oppressor over time crept
up until the weary, lowered old guard slept
Traditions kept deep within the heart
Chosen clan members keeping each part

Trunk and tip left withered and dry
time flows and truth keepers sigh
But awaited reviving time draws near
Guardians stand strong and free from fear

Forced silence reigns for many centuries
Biblical precepts and related prophecies
give way to doctrines of master "race"
Organized confusion instead of facts

Then suddenly a booming voice
pent-up secrets pour out like a flood
not by accident but by design
according to intricacies of chosen time

Under the direction of the Guiding Star
a journal to trace the steps of the great clan
lineage to uncover the lineage of old
Mountain Spirit born again for expected epoch

Founded on an infamous anniversary
Initiated for those with knowledge cursory
Winding timeline with innumerable nodes
Ancient arcane secrets and cryptic codes

Just weeks before tribulation's dawn
Lord of the Sea reigning strong
Song of the ancestors to be sung
Riding back on the waves to the highest rung

Malyari, Sinukuan, Tala, Manalastas
Maya, Mingan, heroes of the past
Alive again today in letter and song
Pun and sepu revived and growing strong

Dog man blogs all the night long
looking to right the history wronged
Belief in his struggle forged in the fire
Golden treasures brought out from under the mire

Knowledge flowed to cetacean pilgrimage site
answers found that seemed nowhere in sight
doubts allayed by songs of the spirit
problems solved by what seemed like kismet

Ancient floods receded long ago
but made their mark by the sign of their flow
riddles within riddles seemed like too much to fight
but the answer lied in Tashi's canine might

Dual mysteries on two different tracks
that with time and effort eventually converge
A great house with many floors and rooms
a giant net with innumerable nodes

Predecessors moving knowingly and unknowingly
working through tradition and hunch and intuition
and sometimes with purpose and design
creating the frame, rigging the protective hull

Messages in a mostly forgotten language
impulses from deep within the soul and spirit
enquiries to the higher board
treasured knowledge from shadowy informants

Stories of genealogies chanted
memorized line by line from elder to younger
Enigmas and clues from Baluga and Igorot
Words, names and stories of history's mystery

Great river of bloodlines from Axis Mundi's land
tributaries from Ta-Seti, Kemet and other distant places
merging into a non-coincidental stream
merging story and song with modern reality

Animal family and spirit guides
in front and back leading the way
knowledge comes from past, present and future
Canine, feline, aviary, marine and other mentors

Deep into the causes in the New Millennium
living for purpose rather than simple pleasure
family moves toward planetary care
with the High Sun as the great sustainer

Using the Net to access easily once distant works
Work that could take months and years down to hours
Messaging through multiple nodes within six steps near
Gatekeepers vanquished, barriers smashed, knowledge wins

Migrations past and present, seeing the connections
a tale of two camps that once united as one
philosophical animism and dual contradictions
Seeing Time as Lord and past, present and future as one

Within Columbia's borders, the dark enters the white
Hope and change and proclamation: "Yes, we can"
Stories of old unfold interwoven with breaking events
Moving in concert with land and atmosphere

Beautiful Venus, Aphrodite delivers the foes
a broken bridge and "father" of woes
Planet's travails push waves to the border
Public mind accepts need for new global order

Orbital home warming, a story from the past
The Great Scorching presaged our current crisis
Great cycles rewind and reveal the hidden knowledge
Once again we see the great travail, the closing of the age

Great Sun brings suddenly a great material success
Families benefit from the new economic confluence
Most precious things in life, though, still ghost-like
learning the lesson of the Earth's great struggle

Bayani, satria, defenders of Mutia's way
celebrating the hard return of the Goddess
the renovation of the regal trunk and tip
Victory but still more struggle left to go

Great stellar clock that guides the times
Camp of Sky and Earth between the lines
Destiny plays its role and karma too
Each action and reaction starts anew

Last of the Ariyang Mutia out of the blue
Dragon and Bird Clan lives but with purpose new
Pinatubo, Arayat set the new phase
New Mounts Regent until final last days

Apung Tala brings the tale to close
From the rest of Toti, the new arose
Asu Lineage completes the quest
But for future, new deeds until the rest.